1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing technique and, more particularly, to an image processing technique suitable for rendering vector data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In rendering vector data, a larger rendering image size leads to a larger number of translucently composited pixels and a larger number of edge pixels to be tracked, which prolongs the rendering process time. Highly complex vector data and a large number of objects also prolong the rendering process time.
Even if rendering takes a long time, a printer can decrease the printing speed in accordance with the rendering speed by printing upon completion of rendering or rendering data on each scan line in the printing direction, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-107272.
However, when playing back an animation made up of vector data, rendered images must be successively output at a specified frame rate. The animation may contain a frame that has not completely been rendered within an allowed time per frame, resulting in frame loss in playback of the animation, and failing to successively display images at a specified frame rate.